PINA

Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu have today taken a major step to secure 453,400 square kilometres of shared ocean heritage. The countries submitted three Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) submissions to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The submissions cover the North Fiji Basin (Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu), the Melanesian Borderland Plateau (Fiji and Solomon...

The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), Leticia Carvalho, has warned that the future of deep-sea governance hangs in the balance, urging member states to “prioritise protection over plunder” as the Council opened its 30th session in Kingston. “As we gather to shape the future of the deep seabed, let us remember that these negotiations are not just about...

When it comes to the most important thing to curb climate change – moving away from planet-heating fossil fuels – governments have done enough negotiating, and their focus now should be on putting what they already agreed into practice, Brazil’s COP30 president told Climate Home News. That does not require repeating language in new UN texts or even consensus among...

A proposal by the Marshall Islands and Colombia calling for a transition away from fossil fuels at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) failed to make it into the council’s declaration on climate change and human rights issued on Tuesday. At a meeting in Geneva, the 47 member countries of the UNHRC held annual discussions on its annual resolution which...

The people of Lau province in Fiji have pledged their acceptance and full support for Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara as their new Chief during a sacred installation church service held today. While presiding over the ceremony, Methodist Church of Fiji President Reverend Dr Semisi Turagavou invited the thousands in attendance to take an oath if they accepted Ratu Tevita as...

-The latest wave of deportations of Pacific people from the United States was among a range of issues discussed at the recent Micronesian Islands Forum in the Marshall Islands. The three-day summit brought together leaders from Kiribati, Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Palau. Their main focus was on improving...

Hosting the 2025 Pacific Mini Games is a significant undertaking - particularly for a small, remote nation like Palau. Speaking to RNZ Pacific about the preparations as the host country for the 12th edition of the Mini Games - their second time since 2005 - Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr acknowledged that the journey has been long and challenging, but...

The board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) last week adopted reforms that aim to make it quicker and easier for organisations in developing countries to become eligible to apply for funds for climate projects. Achala Abeysinghe, director of investment services at the UN-backed Green Climate Fund (GCF), told a board meeting in Papua New Guinea that the current accreditation...

As the world moves closer to finalising a global treaty to end plastic pollution, Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) have reaffirmed their longstanding position: the agreement must be legally binding, contain strong measures to curb plastic production, and reflect the urgency of the crisis facing small island developing states. Meeting this week in Apia, Samoa, representatives from Pacific Small...

The top United Nations court will on 23 July issue a nonbinding opinion on countries' legal obligation to fight climate change, a decision expected to be cited in climate change-driven litigation around the world, the court said on Monday. The so-called advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, is also expected to...